Newborough National Nature Reserve And Forest
We've had a heads up that this is a great place to visit. It's on Anglesey in North Wales. I've copied the web page content and include all of the original links. Do bookmark the. page if you're planning a trip up north :)
Welcome
Newborough Warren is one of the largest and finest dune systems in Britain.
The dunes, coastal marshes, sandy and rocky shores have been shaped over thousands of years by the wind and sea and are home to a dazzling array of plants and animals.
Newborough Warren and Ynys Llanddwyn was declared the first coastal National Nature Reserve in Wales in 1955.
Read more about the National Nature Reserve.
The Corsican pine trees that make up Newborough Forest were planted between 1947 and 1965 to provide timber and to stabilise the shifting sand dunes.
Today it is a popular area for recreation and home to wildlife, especially red squirrels.
The Cefni Estuary and the pools behind the Pen Cob embankment are a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife and there are views across the estuary over an expanse of coastal marsh, open sand and sea.
What you can do here
You can walk anywhere on the beaches and on the network of footpaths or you can follow one of our waymarked walking trails.
There is also an Animal Puzzle Trail for younger visitors, two family friendly cycle trails, a trim trail and a waymarked running trail.
Walking trails
Waymarked walking trails start from several of our car parks at Newborough.
Saint, Sand and Sea Trail
Start: Beach car park
Distance: 4½ miles/7.1 kilometres
Time: 3 hours
Grade: Moderate
Please note:
Ynys Llanddwyn can be cut off in high tides
you should check tide times before starting this route. Check tide times on the BBC website.
the island can be very exposed and you should be prepared for bad weather conditions
This trail offers a family adventure taking in the forest, dunes and island.
The Saint, Sand and Sea Trail gives an insight into Newborough’s unique geological and cultural features, as well as its history and the legend of Saint Dwynwen.
You can make your way over to the island of Ynys Llanddwyn at low tide.
Audio trail
Learn more about local history and the legend of Saint Dwynwen on our Saint, Sand and Sea MP3 audio trail.
The audio trail is divided into sections which correspond to numbered posts along the Saint, Sand and Sea walking trail.
Nature/Animal Puzzle Trail
Start: Beach car park
Distance: 1 mile/1.5 kilometres
Time: 1 hour
Grade: Easy
Pick up a family activities pack from the dispenser and let the children take the lead as you search for the animals and clues along the trail.
The trail starts from the beach car park and continues on sections of stoned forest road and some sandy but uneven tracks before returning to the car park.
Princes and Pines Heritage Trail
Start: Cwnhingar car park
Distance: 3¼ miles/5.3 kilometres
Time: 2 hours
Grade: Moderate
Enjoy this circular walk through forest, dune and farmland.
Red Squirrel Trail
Start: Llyn Parc Mawr car park
Distance: 1½ miles/2.4 kilometres
Time: 1 hour
Grade: Easy
On the trail meet Sara the red squirrel and her friends and find out more about their life in the forest from our information panels.
On the way you’ll see some great views of the wildlife lake and the pine forest.
Estuary View Walk
Start: Pen Cob car park
Distance: 1¾ miles/2.9 kilometres
Time: 1 hour
Grade: Easy
Walk through the forest and alongside the Cefni estuary with its great variety of wildlife.
From our two viewing points see if you can spot the elusive osprey hunting for fish in the summer, or take a look alongside the saltmarsh for its variety of plants such as the common reed, Britain’s tallest native grass which was used for thatching.
Dune Walk
Start: Braint car park or Llyn Rhos Ddu car park
Distance: 3½ miles/5.6 kilometres
Time: 2-3 hours
Grade: Moderate
Enjoy the views from the Warren across to the mountains and along the coastline and the amazing display of wildflowers.
Cycling trails
Our two waymarked cycle trails are ideal for all the family.
Bikequest Nature Challenge
Start: Beach car park
Distance: 7.8 kilometres
Grade: forest road
Pick up a family activities pack from the dispenser in the car park.
Then follow the waymarkers and search for the information panels to answer the nature challenge questions.
Corsica Bike Trail
Start: Beach car park
Distance: 9.9 kilometres
Grade: forest road or similar
This waymarked circular route is mainly on forest roads and has views of the estuary.
It goes through areas of mixed forest from mature pine trees to wet willow woods, and passes by ponds, unusual rocks and wildflowers.
Running trail
In 2011, the Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Distance Running Championships came to North Wales and the 55 kilometre Ultra Distance trail race took place in Newborough.
Today you can run (or walk!) part of the official race route.
Commonwealth Running Trail
Start: Beach car park
Distance: 8½ miles/13.6 kilometres
Time running: 1 hour
Time walking: 3 hours
Grade: Strenuous
Waymarked from the beach car park, the running trail goes through the peaceful forest, the vast dunes of Newborough Warren and onto the island of Ynys Llanddwyn.
The route includes stoned forest roads, narrow paths on sand with exposed tree roots, loose sand and shingle, uneven grassland and rocky terrain.
Trim Trail
The Trim Trail is designed to improve your fitness and health while you’re enjoying the beauty of the forest.
Start: Cwnhingar car park
Distance: 1¾ miles/2.7 kilometres
Time: 2 hours
Grade: Easy
There are 11 exercise stations, two of which are accessible with a wheelchair.
Each exercise station has an instruction panel and resting bench nearby.
Orienteering
Test your map-reading skills by navigating between the wooden marker posts (known as "controls" by orienteers) on one of the three permanent orienteering courses in Newborough Forest.
The courses are suitable for beginners who can understand a map and experienced orienteers and it’s up to you how quickly you complete a course.
The courses are graded to British Orienteering Federation standards and were designed by Eryri Orienteers.
All three routes start north east of the main parking area and finish in the clearing south east of the main parking area.
Orange course
Distance: 2.5 kilometres
Grade: medium
The Orange course is of medium difficulty and is suitable for beginners who can understand a map.
There are 9 controls to visit on the course.
Green course
Distance: 5 kilometres
Grade: very hard
The Green course requires technically difficult navigation and is suitable for experienced orienteers.
There are 12 controls to visit on the course.
Blue course
Distance: 6.7 kilometres
Grade: very hard
The Blue course requires technically difficult navigation and is suitable for experienced orienteers.
There are 18 controls to visit on the course.
More information
Download the maps, instructions and answer sheets and print at home
Buy an A3 sized version of the map, printed on waterproof paper at a scale of 1:7,500, with instructions and answer sheet from the toll booth at the forest entrance
Horse riding
Experience Newborough on horseback on one of our two waymarked routes from the Pen Cob car park.
Please note:
You need a permit from Natural Resources Wales to horse ride in Newborough Forest.
Horse boxes may only be parked in the Pen Cob car park.
How to get a horse riding permit
You can get a weekly (£4) or an annual (£10) horse riding permit.
Proof of third party public liability insurance of a minimum of £3m is required.
Please allow a minimum of three working days to process your application.
If you prefer to pay online please contact our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 065 3000 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) or email newboroughhorsepermits@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk
Horse riding trails
Postman’s Trot
Start: Pen Cob car park
Distance: 6¾ miles/10.9 kilometres
Time: 2-4 hours
Grade: Easy
Enjoy the unique and beautiful surroundings of Newborough Forest on horseback.
Woodland Trot
Start: Pen Cob car park
Distance: 7½ miles/12.3 kilometres
Time: 2-4 hours
Grade: Easy
Discover views, wildlife and heritage along the route.
National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserves are places with some of the very finest examples of wildlife habitats and geological features.
Newborough Warren’s dunes and beach and the island of Ynys Llanddwyn are a National Nature Reserve, which also includes large areas of saltmarsh and coastal sand flats.
The high dunes and seasonally flooded dune hollows (known as slacks) here are the result of the ever-evolving landscape shaped by thousands of years of storms, tides and nature.
Ynys Llanddwyn island is rich in heritage, folklore, geology and wildlife.
The rocks on this tidal island are amongst the oldest in Wales – look out for the distinctive outcrops of pillow lava on the beach.
Find out more about National Nature Reserves
What to see at the National Nature Reserve
The sand dunes are a rich mix of damp hollows, grassland and developing dune woodland of willow and birch.
The once mobile dunes have in recent years become ‘fixed’ and covered in plants as a result of air pollution, changing weather patterns and fewer rabbits and grazing animals.
This means a huge decrease in the amount of bare sand, a habitat crucial to the survival of some of our rarest plants and insects, such as the petalwort liverwort and the vernal mining bee.
To address this, we have started re-creating areas of bare sand along the coastline using large machines and much of the dunes are grazed with ponies and cattle to keep the dune vegetation short and rich in wildflowers. Rabbits used to do this until myxomatosis caused their numbers to decline.
During the summer months the dunes are carpeted in thousands of colourful flowers including rare orchids and are buzzing with insect and birdlife. Listen for skylarks high above the reserve and the chattering of whitethroats, stonechats and linnets in the dunes and open woodland.
During the autumn and early winter migratory wildfowl such as Brent geese, shelduck and wigeon are joined on the saltmarsh and estuary by redshanks and plovers. The pools behind the Cob embankment are visited by birds such as pintail, wigeon, teal and lapwing which come here to escape the harsher winters of the Arctic.
Red squirrels
Llyn Parc Mawr is one of the best places in Newborough to catch sight of one of our rarest mammals, the red squirrel.
By the mid 1990s red squirrels had almost disappeared from the forest but they were re-introduced in 2004 from the Welsh Mountain Zoo.
We manage the forest with them and other wildlife in mind – red squirrels like the mix of pines and other trees species which we grow here to provide them with food and shelter.
Try our waymarked Red Squirrel Walk from the Llyn Parc Mawr car park and visit our lakeside viewpoint to get a feel for this unique area and its wildlife.
The legend of Saint Dwynwen
Ynys Llanddwyn island is home to the ruins of an ancient church dedicated to Dwynwen, the patron saint of lovers in Wales.
In Welsh, Llanddwyn means ‘the church of Saint Dwynwen’ and the story of Saint Dwynwen, patron saint of lovers of Wales, is associated with the island.
Dwynwen was the daughter of a 5th century king. She is said to have retreated to Llanddwyn after falling in love and she set up a religious enclosure here.
Over the years this beautiful island became a popular place of pilgrimage and today people celebrate Saint Dwynwen's Day on 25 January all over Wales.
You can learn more about the legend of Dwynwen on our audio trail which you can download to use on the Saint, Sand and Sea walking trail.
Wales Coast Path
The Wales Coast Path goes through Newborough.
The Wales Coast Path provides a continuous walking route around the coastline of Wales.
Go to the Wales Coast Path website to find out more.
Visitor facilities
There is an ice cream van and a catering van in Beach car park at these times:
11am-4pm every weekend from 1 April to 30 September
11am-4pm every day during school summer holidays
Please note that these times are subject to weather conditions.
The toilets in Beach car park are open from 9am to 4pm in winter (GMT) and from 8am to 6pm in summer (BST).
School visits
We will allocate a parking bay near Beach car park for school visits by bus or coach.
Please contact Permissions.NorthWest@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk a couple of weeks before the visit so that we can arrange to escort your bus or coach to the parking bay.
Seasonal dog restrictions
There are lots of places to take your dog on the forest trails but please be aware that there are seasonal dog restrictions on the blue flag beach and island.
Please keep dogs on a lead, especially:
from March – July when camouflaged ringed plovers nest on the beach
from late autumn to winter around Pen Cob and the estuary when overwintering birds are easily disturbed
Please abide by seasonal dog restrictions on Llanddwyn beach (1 May – 30 September) and Ynys Llanddwyn (1 April – 30 September).
Download more information about dog restrictions
Accessibility information
Facilities include:
disabled parking (free for blue badge holders)
accessible toilets (in Beach car park)
two accessible exercise stations on the Trim Trail
Safety guidance
As well as being a popular place to visit, Newborough is still a working forest.
Some areas may be closed for safety when trees are being felled or timber removed.
We want you to have a safe enjoyable visit to Newborough, so please read the guidance below.
Do not touch any military debris – it may explode!
Report any suspect objects to the police by calling 999
Do not dig holes or tunnels in the sand dunes – sand can collapse and suffocate you
Please do not feed or approach livestock
Wear stout footwear
Always carry windproofs and a warm top in unsettled weather
No camping - there are official campsites nearby
No open fires
Keep to waymarked paths and access tracks to safeguard nature
Do not go out onto the estuary as the incoming tide can quickly cut you off
Be aware of soft sinking mud and sand
Ynys Llanddwyn can be very exposed and can be cut off in high tides. Be prepared for bad weather conditions and check tide times on the BBC website
Sometimes we need to close or divert trails for your safety whilst we undertake maintenance work or forest operations. Please follow any instructions and temporary diversion signs.
Occasionally we may have to close the site in extreme weather, such as high winds or snow and ice due to the risk of injury to visitors or staff.
Opening times
The car parks are open from 9am to 4pm in winter (GMT) and from 8am to 6pm in summer (BST).
The toilets in Beach car park are open at the same time as the car parks.
How to get here
Newborough is 13 miles from Bangor.
Take the A55 from Bangor towards Holyhead. Go over the Britannia Bridge onto Anglesey and take the A4080 to Newborough village. Turn left, following the brown and white signs for ‘Ynys Llanddwyn Island’, and you will reach our car parks and toll booth.
It is on Ordnance Survey (OS) map 263.
Car parking
There are seven car parks.
For Newborough Forest use these car parks: Beach, Airman’s, Cwninghar or Llyn Park Mawr.
For Newborough Warren use Braint car park or Llyn Rhos Ddu car park.
For Ynys Llanddwyn use Beach car park.
For Cefni estuary and Pen Cob use Pen Cob car park or Llyn Parc Mawr car park.
Beach, Airman’s and Cwnhingar car parks
There is a £5 daily parking charge, paid on arrival to the car park attendant in the kiosk.
You can pay by cash or contactless payment.
Car parking here is free for blue badge holders.
Beach car park fills up quickly in peak season, especially on sunny days; traffic can be very heavy so please be patient.
OS grid references
Beach car park SH 405 634
Airman’s car park SH 413 645
Cwnhinghar car park SH 407 640
Llyn Park Mawr, Braint, Llyn Rhos Ddu and Pen Cob car parks
These car parks are free of charge.
OS grid references
Llyn Park Mawr car park SH 413 670
Braint car park SH 431 643
Llyn Rhos Ddu car park SH 426 647
Pen Cob car park SH 411 671
Parking season ticket
You can buy an annual car parking pass for £30 from the car park attendant in the kiosk on arrival.
You can only buy the season ticket from the kiosk in person.
You can pay by cash or contactless payment.
Public transport
The nearest major train stations are in Bangor and Holyhead.
There is an unstaffed request station stop at Bodorgan, which is about four miles from Newborough village.
For details of public transport visit Traveline Cymru's website
Contact details
Tel: 0300 065 3000 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm)
Email: enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk
This article was originally published here - https://naturalresources.wales/days-out/places-to-visit/north-west-wales/newborough/?lang=en